


Keep In Touch

by garbageboystinkman



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - College/University, Band Fic, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22134718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garbageboystinkman/pseuds/garbageboystinkman
Summary: Richie, Bev, Mike, and Ben start a cover band in highschool, but that ends when everyone goes off to separate colleges. Except for Richie, who continues making his own music in LA.The story mostly takes place during the summer after their first year in college when they all meet up again.This is just written in the form of notes because I haven't actually written anything in years, so I don't remember how to write lmao
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Part 1

• So yes there's gonna be some BenxBev RichiexEddie and MikexStan (and Bill who's awful at romantics), but we'll get into all of that later.

• Richie, Ben, Bev, and Mike start a cover band in high school when they're like 15-16 (probs the summer after their sophomore year. I'm sorry if you're not American and that makes no sense to you lmao.) Richie sings and plays rhythm guitar, Mike plays guitar (and occasional piano), Bev does some vocals and backing vocals and plays bass, and Ben plays the drums. 

• They start off just doing covers and having fun for a while and posting videos/audios of their covers and/or garage/barn performances on YouTube, and they get an okay but not huge following online. They aren't famous or even really that popular by any means, but that doesn't mean they aren't any good.

• So a little after the band situation starts, Richie and Eddie start dating (finally), and it goes pretty well up until their senior year when everyone's getting ready for college and shit. Eddie's always being guilttripped by his mom, and Richie (and the other Losers) have to keep reminding him that life will be so much better for him once he's away from his mother and just Derry in general.

• Now, in Richie's head, he saw all of them going to the same college or at least colleges that are somewhat close to each other. Obviously, a bit too much to ask for for seven people with mostly differing life plans. 

• Bill talks about going to a college in England towards the end of their Junior year which upsets Richie and the two get into this huge fight, and they pretty much don't talk to each other for the rest of their high school careers, but obviously they're forced to be around each other because of their friends.

• Senior year's going along, and Richie's still in this unrealistic (and kinda unhealthy) mindset that the rest of the Losers are going to go with his basically unspoken plan of sticking together for their college years. 

• Eddie starts talking about going to college in New York, Ben and Stan plan to go to colleges in Nebraska and Georgia, and Mike and Bev end up wanting to go to the same college in Florida, purely by coincidence, and Richie is left in the dark about ALL of this because everyone is scared of upsetting him.  
• Bill talks about going to a college in England towards the end of their Junior year which upsets Richie and the two get into this huge fight, and they pretty much don't talk to each other for the rest of their high school careers, but obviously they're forced to be around each other because of their friends.

• Senior year's going along, and Richie's still in this unrealistic (and kinda unhealthy) mindset that the rest of the Losers are going to go with his basically unspoken plan of sticking together for their college years. 

• Eddie starts talking about going to college in New York, Ben and Stan plan to go to colleges in Nebraska and Georgia, and Mike and Bev end up wanting to go to the same college in Florida, purely by coincidence, and Richie is left in the dark about ALL of this because everyone is scared of upsetting him.

• Anyways, the band is still going strong through their Senior year. Richie actually started writing original songs (with occasional help from the others). They're upbeat and punk/alternative and sometimes about Eddie just to see him blush in the front of the little crowds at the small parties they had in Mike's barn where they performed. These songs are recorded and posted on YouTube and get just as much love as the rest of their stuff, in fact, it actually gets them a little more attention. Again, not Famous or really that popular, but good, y'know?

• Then around Spring break, Richie finds Eddie's acception letter in his backpack while digging around for his inhaler or something, and he flips. They fight, Eddie goes off telling him how unrealistic it would be for all 7 of them to go to the same place when they all have mostly different directions they want to go in. Richie refuses to accept that and feels betrayed.  
And Eddie breaks up with Richie.

• Richie doesn't go to school for the rest of the week and avoids the Losers for a couple weeks after that, staying at home and pouting.. and crying.. and drinking and smoking pot and writing.. a lot. And then he only ever really hangs out with Stan and Bev, Ben, and Mike to practice and play and record and write.

• His songs get kinda more self depreciating but not concerningly so, they're still upbeat and kick-ass, and bitter/angry sometimes.

• One day Richie asks what'll happen to the band after they all split up and Stan, Bev, Ben, and Mike all look at each other and then at the floor and they say they'll try to still help Richie by sending mp4 files through emails, but that they have no idea how busy they'll be. Richie hides the pain that time, just smiles and tells them it'll be fine, and he'll work something out. They don't believe it for a second but go along with it. 

• Graduation comes around, and they throw this huge party and perform with their band and then get completely wasted, but Eddie leaves halfway through the band's set during a particularly bitter song, telling everyone his mom called him (a lie.) Richie just drinks the pain away until he's behind the barn with Bev and Stan, throwing his soul up and crying into their chests about everything and wishing they could just be in high school forever and basically has a breakdown because he doesn't want to lose the rest of his best friends. He's already lost two, he can't handle anymore, and Bev and Stan try to reassure him that even while they're all at college, they'll still keep in touch and talk with him, but Richie isn't having it, he just keeps crying and begging them not to leave him.  
They never talk about it after that night.

• Over the next couple weeks the Losers all start getting ready to leave for their respective colleges. Richie decides to just use his savings to move to LA and spend all of his time working and making music on his own with any possible help he gets from Ben, Mike, and/or Bev between their studies. It didn't matter, he could mix it by himself or just hire someone to play an instrument if he needed it or just make new friends in LA and get them to make music with him.

• They promise to keep in contact with each other (aside from Richie and Eddie.. and Richie and Bill.) Stan's kinda pissed at Richie as well for just being stupid and kind of an asshole about everything all year, but he still sees him as a close friend.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: There are brief mentions of alcohol abuse and depression.  
> Also y'all please don't be mad that I made Bill kind of a jerk, he gets better I promise.

• The Losers keep track of Richie's music while they're at college, even Eddie, but Richie doesn't know about this. They don't really have time to talk to each other anymore let alone Richie, but it's not their fault. They have classes and homework and some have work alongside classes and they all probably have new friends now.

• Richie's music starts to get pretty dark/depressing/self-depreciating around winter break, and Bev reaches out, then Stan, then Mike, then Ben. He DOES answer them, but he doesn't talk about his music, and they start to get a little concerned but figure he was just going through a rough patch. They all try to make plans to see each other during the break, but it sorta falls through since most of them didn't have enough money to fly anywhere. Eddie worries a lot about Richie after hearing the new covers and songs. He tries to contact Richie, but gets ignored.

• Overall, here's they're school year:  
\- Eddie does exceptionally well in most of his classes, he makes a couple of friends (his roommate and their girlfriend), they aren't super close, but they hang out when they aren't in class or studying.

\- Bev and Mike practically have the time of the time of their lives partying and having fun. Their grades are okay, Bev's aren't great but she's passing and that's what matters. Mike gets a boyfriend for a bit, but they end up breaking it off mutually and staying friends. Bev and Ben talk everyday through video calls or texts or regular calls and they love each dammit.

\- Ben's okay in some of his classes. Just the ones he actually finds interesting tho, he's not that good at paying attention in the ones he couldn't care less about, but he genuinely tries and his profs like him so they try with him too.

\- Stan doesn't do that great mentally. He starts off with good grades, but they start to slip around wintertime, but we'll get into that later.

\- Bill doesn't do well in most of his classes, his profs seem to dislike him and hate his writing. He gets a girlfriend whom he ends up cheating on.

• AND THEN SUMMER COMES ALONG, and Mike sends a message out to the Losers' Snapchat groupchat (which has barely been touched all year aside from winter and spring break), wanting to finally meet up and hang out over the summer. Bill takes some convincing since it's such a long plane ride but eventually gives in because of his dumbass relationship problems. Eddie also takes some convincing because he planned to visit his mom for a bit. Richie surprisingly says yes along with the rest of the Losers, and they plan to meet up in California since it's warm and sunny there, and IT'S SUMMER DAMN IT, they deserve a nice vacation after all the hard work they did all year.

• The first day, they meet up at a restaurant then they all go back to Richie's apartment. It's not big, but he did some redecorating and cleaning before they arrived, so they all fit comfortably in the living area, sitting on a couch and some chairs. Richie brings out some champagne and whiskey and manages to get the rest of the others to at least have a little bit to drink with him to celebrate. He ends up drinking half the bottle of whiskey after Ben takes a couple sips. No one says anything about it.

• Stan's been depressed all year. The only thing really keeping him distracted from it was his classes/homework and sometimes bird-watching. He didn't say anything to any of the Losers though, he didn't want to bring them down while they were off living their own lives and stressed out with their work, and Richie clearly didn't need any more issues to deal with. He'd heard some of those songs/covers. In all honesty he could relate to a lot of the lyrics. That being said, being alone in a motel room with nothing to do but read or watch TV gets to him a little, so he tries to be with at least one of the there Losers as much as possible.

• Bev, Mike and Eddie go out to lunch a couple days in while Ben is with Richie, drinking whiskey and watching some movies. Bill and Stan go for a walk out at a park near Richie's apartment. They talk and laugh about childhood/highschool memories and eat, and then they start talking about Richie and his music and wonder about just how true to Richie's head and mental state the lyrics might be. They know some of his lyrics were purposefully over confident or angry or pushy to fit the punk/alternative sounds or to set a certain mood and whatnot, but something was off when they were all together again for the first time in a year. Richie has never been one to talk about his feelings, everyone knows this. He'd rather make jokes and help his friends with their problems, but what happens when the only ones you tend to really talk to are a piece of paper, a bottle of whiskey, and a microphone?


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, Bill's kind of an ass in this part, but I *promise* he'll get better lmao  
> I meant to post this earlier, but I kept getting anxiety about it. 😣 
> 
> I really just said fuck it and wrote a ton of dialogue for some reason??

• Bill and Stan go back to Richie's after their walk and find Ben passed out on the couch, Richie nowhere to be found. They find him in his bedroom, a guitar in his lap/hands and a nearly empty bottle of whiskey beside him.

"Let yourselves in why don't you." - Richie  
"As if you'd let us in." - Bill  
"Bill-" - Stan  
"No, he's right, I probably would've locked the door if I'd seen that uglyass shirt through my peephole. Stan would've been let in, though, at least he knows how to dress." - Richie laughs and takes a swig of his whiskey.

  
"You drink like that everyday?" - Bill  
"Eh, sometimes. Depends on if my brain wants to focus on music or not." - Richie  
"What else would it focus on?" - Bill  
A cold silence follows that question and Richie glares at Bill.

  
"We just wanted to come see what you and Ben were up to." - Stan  
"This. Well, before he passed out." -Richie  
"What time was that?" - Bill  
"I dunno. Like five? What time is it now?" - Richie  
"Seven." - Stan  
"And I wonder why he's passed out.." - Bill looks at the bottle next to Richie pointedly.

  
"He _asked_ for the drink. Jesus."  
"And you let him just drink himself to unconsciousness on your couch?" - Bill  
"I'd be a hypocrite if I stopped him." Richie shrugs, strumming lazily on his guitar. "We were just having fun getting drunk and watching movies. It's not that big a deal, dude."

  
Bill looks at him with faint disgust on his face. "Right.."  
"Fuck off, Bill."  
"Guys.." Stan hates this, Bill and Richie have been on and off at each other's throats since they were 13 years old. Stan's starting to get sick of it, and the passive aggressive arguing is making him anxious.

  
"No, it's fine. I don't know why I even bothered coming here." - Bill  
"Because we're friends!" - Stan  
"When was the last time Richie and I have even _talked_ , Stan? Junior year?"  
"Graduation." - Richie chimes in, unhelpfully.

"Whatever." Bill leaves the room and Stan sighs, not knowing whether he should follow him or stay and talk to Richie. He kind of wants to stay. Before he can make up his mind, the apartment door slams and he's left alone with Richie who sighs before taking another swig.

"What are you doing?" - Stan  
"Drinking." - Richie  
"Why?"  
"Because I want to?"  
Stan sighs before sitting next to him on the bed.  
"I kind of meant like- well I mean we- we all..." He sighs again, frustrated with himself for not being able to just spit it out. After a moment of gathering his thoughts, he says, "I listened to the songs, Rich.."  
"Okay."  
"Why dont you don't talk to us anymore?"  
"I'm talking to you right now. Was talking to Bill earlier too. And Ben. Talked to the rest of you Losers yesterd-"  
"That's not what I mean.. I mean just.. you used to talk so much, especially to me and Bev, and you never talk to us about your songs. I don't know, I feel like you've been progressively drifting away from us all year.."  
"Oh please, like you guys made a fuckton of effort to communicate with /each other/ let alone me. We know nothing about what any of the others have been up to. We have no idea what the others have done all year, what they've gone through, what could've happened. Someone could've gotten engaged, someone could've caught an STI, someone could be pregnant-"  
"There's no way Bev's pregnant."  
"I'm talking about me, Stanley. Haven't you noticed my moodiness? My morning sickness? The lack of tampon wrappers in the garbage? Oh wait! You couldn't have, you only got here a couple days ago!"  
"And here I thought you'd be the one with the STI."

They both laugh and Richie wraps his arm around him and gives him a gentle sidehug.  
"Rude." - Richie  
"You deserve it."  
"I know."  
"Who would the father even be?"  
"I dunno. God? I barely have friends out here."  
"Really?"  
"I don't really leave my apartment unless it's for work or to go shopping."

"What've you been doing for work?"

"The 7-11 down the street, and I DJ at a club a couple blocks away during the weekends."  
Stan snorts. "Rip."  
"Did you just talk gen z to me?"  
"Okay, boomer."  
"Git off my lawn, young whippersnapper!"  
Richie ruffles the other's hair before turning to put his guitar back on his bed.

"You wanna go eat something?"  
"Bill and I ate at the park. Had a picnic."  
"How romantic."  
"Hell no."  
"Why not? He's a dick, but he's kinda hot."  
"He's not- He's just.. I don't even think he'd be up for a relationship right now."  
"What makes you say that? He took you on a picnic. That's practically marriage for one of us."  
"Stop it, Rich. We're not like that-"  
"Oh? 15-year-old me doesn't remember it that wa-"

Stan's face turns red immediately. "I DIDN'T MEAN /THAT/! I'm gay, I'm just not into Bill like that, and I thought we agreed never to mention that again."

"We're adults now, love. We leave behind our high school years, drink alcohol, and say fuck a lot."  
"How do you even get so much alcohol? You're 19."  
"A man has his ways, Stan the Man."  
"You steal it, don't you?"  
"Nah, I pay my coworker to buy some for me."

• Stan and Richie lie down and talk some more and then once their conversation dies down, Stan says,  
"I missed you. I mean I missed all of you, but.. y'know.."  
"Missed you too, Stan the Man. Thought Mike would've been your favorite though."  
"How did yo-"  
"Well, you just told me it's not Bill. Can't be Ben or Bev. You and Eddie don't seem to talk that much anymore, and it's certainly not me, so.."  
"What makes you think I like ANY of you guys like that?"  
"Like what? Here I thought we were talking about favorites, you're making it sound like a crush."

Stan goes silent, blushes, and glares at Richie. "You tricked me."  
" _I_ didn't do anything. And don't worry I won't tell Mike about how hopelessly in love with him you are."

Stan groans and shoves a pillow over his face.  
"No need to smother yourself. Dying will just trap you in this apartment with me forever."

• Stan freezes at that and suddenly thoughts are flying into his head at breakneck speed. Suddenly, he's deathly silent.

"You okay?"

*TRIGGER WARNING FOR IMPLIED SUICIDAL THOUGHTS*

• It takes a few moments for him to even think about what to say to Richie. He moves the pillow so just his mouth isn't covered by it, so Richie can hear him.

"I've just had a shitty year. I.. Everything just kinda stopped being new and fun and easy. I missed you guys a fuck ton, but I was too scared to bring it up. I missed hanging out with you guys everyday and trying to stop you from doing something stupid and impulsive, but we all ended up doing it anyways. I wanted to talk to you, but I was scared to start the conversation. I knew you guys were stressed with classes and work and exams and just life, and I didn't want to add to that."

"You could've talked to me.."

"I've been listening, Rich. Didn't want to add to your shit either."

"You wouldn't have been adding anything to anything. We're your friends, you can talk to us."

"I know. I just.. I don't know what's wrong with me.. Everything was fine and then one day it just wasn't, and I didn't want to do anything anymore. I just stayed in my room and watched birds through my window and laid in bed all day. I'm pretty sure I failed all my classes.. It got _really_ bad, Rich.."

"How bad?"

Stan lays there in silence, sniffling.  
"Stan..?"  
"Don't be mad, Richie.."  
"Fuck, Stan.."

• Richie turns onto his side, pulls the pillow off Stan's face and pulls him closer to him so his side is against Richie's chest and Richie's chin rests on his head.  
"Hey, it's okay. You're okay now, right?"  
"Sort of.."  
"Well, if it gets bad, call me, okay? Whenever. Doesn't matter what time or day or whatever, okay?"  
"Okay.."

• "I don't even know if I want to go back in the Fall.."  
"You could stay with me. We got a beach, a park, a theater, and bars and clubs."  
"There's only one bedroom in your apartment."  
"We can save up and look for a two bedroom. Or we can take turns sleeping on the couch."  
".. Thanks, Rich."  
Richie squeezes him and smiles.  
"It'd be cool to live with you, dude."  
"Yeah, 'cause I'd be cleaning up your messes all the time."  
"What do you mean? My apartments clean!"  
"You probably cleaned it before we got here. Plus, your bedroom's a disaster."  
"..This is clean for me.."  
Stan laughs at him.


End file.
